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PROVIDENCE : 

ALFRED ANTHONY, PRINTER, MARKET SQUARE. 

1864. 



[THE LIB**** 

of CO*G* ESS 

WASHINGTON 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, 

BY GEORGE PALMER, 

In the Clerk's Office for the Southern District of Rhode island. 



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JSY^L 




HE Ancient Britons were a brave and 
hardy people, resembling in their nature, 
habits and customs, the North American 
Indians. They lived in huts, were clothed with the 
skins of beasts, and subsisted principally by hunting, 
fishing and plunder. Their government was in form 
Monarchical. Their religion was Druidical, and their 
priests exercised an extensive civil and military juris- 
diction. 



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C. 55, the Romans under Julius Caesar, 
invaded the island, expecting undoubt- 

KJ/^J edly an easy conquest. But the Britons 
fought so bravely that he accepted proposals for peace 
and went away. He returned the next year with a 
larger army, and after several desperate battles, terms 
of peace were again agreed upon, and Caesar a second 
time withdrew with his ships and men. The Britons 
were now left to themselves for nearly a century, 
during which time there was peace in Britain. 

A. D. 43, the emperor Claudius, with an army of 
fifty thousand men, made another attempt to subdue 
the Britons. The Britons as before fought desperate- 
ly, and under the lead of the brave Caractacus, con- 
tinued the conflict with varied success for many years, 
when Caractacus was taken prisoner and carried to 
Rome. But so great respect had the emperor for his 



MONUMENT OF 



bravery anil patriotism, that Caraetacus was soon re- 
stored to freedom. 

But the Britons were not yet subdued. They 
rose, again and again, against the Roman invaders. 

A. D. 61, Suetonius, another Roman General, 
landed on the island of Anglesey, and destroyed the 
sacred altars of the Druids. This, together with the 
cruel treatment received by their queen, Boadicea, 
aroused the Britons to swift revenge. Boadicea, at 
the head of an army, gained a splendid victory over 
the Romans, in which over seventy thousand Roman 
soldiers were slain. The Britons were however soon 
after vanquished with great slaughter, and Boadicea 
destroyed herself by poison. Still the spirit of the 
Britons was unbroken. And when Suetonius left the 
country, they fell upon his troops, routed them, and re- 
took the island of Anglesey. 

A. D. 78, the Romans under Julius Agricola, took 
possession of the country for a third time, and ex- 
tended their conquests northward into Scotland. The 
natives bravely disputed every inch of ground, and 
many bloody battles were fought, in which vast num- 
bers on both sides were slain. 

A. D. 108, the Romans under the emperor Adrian, 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 



again invaded the island, but met with the same ob- 
stinate resistance from the native islanders. 

A.. D. 200, the Roman emperor Severus, made 
another attempt to subdue this hardy people. But 
they worried, hunted and scattered his army like dogs ; 
and it was not till Caracalla, son of Severus, entered 
upon the work, that the Romans made any substantial 
progress in bringing the Britons to terms. Caracalla 
pursued a far wiser course than that of his predeces- 
sors. He knew that arms alone, could never subdue 
that brave and determined people ; and by yielding a 
quantity of land, and granting them the same privi- 
leges which the Romans possessed, he secured a meri- 
torious peace, which remained unbroken for seventy 
years. 

The Romans remained masters of England for 
nearly four centuries, or until about the period of the 
decline of the Roman Empire ; when the civil wars at 
home demanded the recall of the Roman armies, and 
the Romans bade a final adieu to England. 




®Ju #ax flits 



[^D ^ sooner were the Roman armies with- 
(•;yr_L)' drawn from the island, than new enemies 
^L^KLs assailed the Britons. The Picts and Scots 
from the north, poured down upon them, and they 
were compelled to appeal to Rome for assistance. But 
the Romans had all that they could attend to at 
home. The Britons then invited to their assistance, 
the Saxons, who were a warlike people in the north 
of Germany. The Saxons accepted the invitation of 
the Britons, assisted them to drive back the Picts 
and Scots, and then formed an alliance with the 
Picts and Scots, to take possession of the country they 
had come to deliver. 

A. D. 449, Hengist and Horsa, two chieftain 
brothers, landed upon the island, took possession of a 
portion of territory now known as the County of Kent, 
and A. D. 451, established the kingdom of Kent ; the 
first Saxon kingdom on the island. 



10 



MONUMENT OF 



Other Saxon generals followed, and assisted by- 
some other of the German tribes, the Angles and the 
Jutes, advanced their conquests, until in time seven 
Saxon kingdoms were formed on the island, which 
were called the Saxon Heptarchy. 

These kingdoms, with the dates of their beginning, 
were as follows, as seen by the steps to the monument : 

The kingdom of Kent was founded by Hengist, 

A. D. 451. 
The kingdon of South Saxony was founded by- 
Ella, A. D. 490. 
The Kingdom of West Saxony was founded by 

Cedric, A. D. 519. 
The kingdom of East Saxony was founded by 

Ercenwin, A. D. 527. 
The kingdom of Northumbria was founded by 

Ida, A. D. 547. 
The kingdom of East Anglia was founded by 

Uffa, A. D. 575. 
The kingdom of Mercia was founded by Cridda, 

A. D. 582. 



The Britons falling back before their Saxon con- 
querors, retired into Wales and Cornwall, which two 
counties remained independent and unconquered 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 11 

until the reign of Edward I, in the thirteenth cen- 
tury. 

The Saxons made common cause against the Britons, 
until, their common purpose accomplished, they com- 
menced quarrelling among themselves, and in the year 
827, they were all conquered and united under 
Egbert, king of Wessex, or West Saxony. It was 
by this king's order that all that portion of the island 
that had been settled by the Angles and Saxons or 
Anglo-Saxons, should ever after be called Angle-land, 
which has since been contracted to England. 

The history of the kingdoms of the Saxon Heptarchy 
is confused, unreliable and of little interest. The only 
important and memorable fact in connection with their 
time is the introduction of Christianity among the 
English Saxons, by Augustine, a monk who preached 
the christian religion in the kingdom of Kent, about 
the year 600, and soon made a convert of king 
Ethelbert. From that time it spread rapidly over 
the island. 



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J3YS1 



EGBERT. 



«Cf gbert reigned as king thirty-seven years, viz : 
^^ twenty years as king of Wessex only ; seven 
years as king or chief of the seven kingdoms ; and 
ten years as king of all England. He died A. D. 
838, and was succeeded by his son, 

ETHEL WOLF. 

Ethelwolf died A. D. 857, leaving four sons, 
Ethelbald, Ethelbert, Ethelred and Alfred. By his 
will he divided the kingdom between his two sons, 

ETHELBALD AND ETHELBERT. 

Ethelbald died A. D. 860, and Ethelbert reigned 
alone till his death A. D. 866. He was succeeded 
by his brother, 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 13 

ETHELRED I. 

Etlielred died A. D. 871, and was succeeded by his 
younger brother, 

ALFRED, (The Great.) 

Alfred, youngest son of Ethelwolf, died A. D. 901, 
and was succeeded by his son, 

EDWARD, (The Elder.) 

Edward died A. D. 925, and was succeeded by 
his natural son, 

ATHELSTAN. 

Athelstan died A. D. 941, and was succeeded by 
the legitimate son of Edward the Elder, 

EDMUND. 

Edmund died A. D. 946, and was succeeded by 
his brother, 

EDRED. 

Edred died A. D. 955, and was succeeded by his 
nephew, 

EDWT. 

Edwy died A. D. 959, and was succeeded by his 
younger brother, 



14 



MONUMENT OF 



EDGAR. 

Edgar died A. D. 975, and was succeeded by bis 
son, 

EDWARD, (Tbe Martyr.) 

Edward died A. D. 978, and was succeeded by bis 
balf brother, 

ETHELRED II. 

From tbe reign of Egbert till tbe time of Etbelred 
II, tbe Danes, wbo were a piratical people, bad com- 
mitted frequent and serious depredations upon the 
English; and during the reign of Etbelred II, Sweyn, 
king of Norway, taking advantage of the cruelty, 
treachery and cowardice of that monarch, ravaged tbe 
country with fire and sword, and succeeded in gaining 
the mastery over nearly the whole island. Etbelred 
fled to Normandy, and Sweyn was proclaimed king, 
A. D. 1013, and died A. D. 1014. His reign being 
so short, and perhaps his being never crowned, are 
the reasons why most historians have not ranked him 
among the kings of England. Upon the death of 
Sweyn, the Danes proclaimed his son, Canute, king 
of England. The English in the mean time recalled 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 15 

Ethelred. The war between Canute and Ethelred 
continued until the death of the latter, A. D. 1016, 
when his son, 

EDMUND, (Ironside.) 

Was proclaimed king by the English. There is 
great confusion in English history in regard to the par- 
ticulars of the war between Edmund and Canute. 
Many battles were fought with varied success, when it 
was finally agreed that the kingdom should be divided 
between the two monarchs ; Edmund taking all south 
of the Thames, with London and part of the ancient 
kingdom of Wessex; and Canute, the remainder. 
Edmund died suddenly, A. D. 1017, and it is sup- 
posed that he was murdered. 

With Edmund, the Saxon Monarchy in England in 
a manner, ended ; having lasted about one hundred 
and ninety years from Egbert's accession ; four hun- 
dred and thirty-two from the founding of the Heptar- 
chy ; and five hundred and sixty-six from the arrival 
of Hengist. 



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CANUTE, (The Great.) 

/TUANute, who, as we have seen, was in possession of 
^ half of England, upon Edmund's death, soon 
became master of the whole. He was crowned A. D 
1017, died A. D. 1036, and was succeeded by his 
son, 

HAROLD. 

Harold died A. D. 1039, and was succeeded by 
his brother, 



HARDIGANUTE. 

Hardicanute ruled with extreme cruelty until his 
death, A. D. 1041. He was a glutton and a drunk- 
ard ; and died in a drunken fit, at a wedding. For 
several centuries afterwards the English observed the 
anniversary of his death as a holiday, 



17 ENGLISH HISTORY. 

With this king, expired the monarchy of the Danes 
in England, after it had lasted about twenty-six years ; 
but after they had harrassed the kingdom at intervals, 
for two hundred and forty years. 



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EDWARD, (The Confessor.) 

^Odward was the son of Etheldred II, and half 
e ^* brother of Edmund Ironside. He ascended the 
throne A, D. 1041. At this time Edward, son of 
Edmund Ironside, was in exile in Hungary, and by 
the rule of the succession, was rightful heir to the 
throne ; and Sweyn, son of Canute, was yet living in 
Norway. To avoid a renewal of hostilities between 
the English and Danes, it was arranged that Edward, 
the Confessor, who was the only prince then in 
England who had any claim to the throne, should be 
proclaimed. This result was owing in a great degree 
to the influence of Earl Godwin, a powerful noble- 
man, whose daughter Edward had married. Edward 
died A. D. 1065, and was the last king of Egbert's 
race. He was succeeded by 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 19 

HAROLD II. 

Harold IT, was a Saxon, but not of royal blood. 
He was the son of Earl Godwin ; and upon the death 
of Edward, usurped the crown, and was after- 
wards acknowledged and obeyed as king of England. 

At this time Edgar Athcling, grandson of Edmund 
Ironside, by his son Edward, was the only person on 
whom, by the law of succession, the crown should have 
devolved. Harold had all the requisite qualities of a 
great prince and ruler. He was killed in the battle of 
Hastings, October 14th, A. D, 1066, after a reign of 
nine months and nine days, and with him ended the 
empire of the Anglo-Saxons, in England. 

It is a singular fact that William, Duke of Nor- 
mandy, in a single day, by this one fortunate battle, 
became master of England ; whereas all the former 
invaders, Romans, Saxons and Danes, conquered it as 
it were by inches. 



®Ju $<muatt Jamil}} 



WILLIAM I, (Surnamed the Conqueror.) 

MHE battle of Hastings was entirely decisive, and 
**" secured the crown of England to William, Duke 
of Normandy. This revolution was followed by a 
most remarkable change of laws, customs, manners 
and language. England from this time received a 
new race of kings, which either by the male or female 
line has continued to the present time. William ruled 
England iu the most arbitrary manner until his death, 
A. D. 1087, when he was succeeded by his son, 

WILLIAM II. (Surnamed Rufus.) 

William II, ruled very much as his father had done, 
until his death, A. D. 1100. He was accidentally 
slain by an arrow, and was succeeded by his brother, 

HENRY I, (Surnamed Beau Clerc.) 
Henry died A. D. 1135, leaving a daughter, 



EXGLISH HISTOKT. 21 

Matilda, who married for her second husband Geoffrey 
Plantagenet. By the law of succession, Matilda was 
rightful heir to the throne, but, 

STEPHEN, (The Usurper,) 

Son of Adela, fourth daughter of William the Con- 
queror, usurped the throne upon the death of Henry. 
A civil war was the consequence of the usurpation, 
which was finally settled by compromise. It was 
agreed that Stephen should hold the crown during his 
life, and that it should then descend to the heirs of 
Matilda. Stephen died the next year, viz : A. D. 
1154, and the crown passed into the house of 



lite |j5Uttt»0*tt*tj8i. 

HENRY II 

6 *P|Penry II, the first Plantagenet who possessed the 
c ^* 9 throne of England, was the son of Matilda, 
daughter of Henry I, and Geoffrey Plantagenet He 
married Matilda or Maud, great-grand-daughter of 
Edmund Ironside, thus uniting the Saxon with the 
Norman blood, a circumstance which gave great satis- 
faction to ihe English. Henry died A. D. 1189, 
and was succeeded by his son, 

RICHARD I. (The Lion Hearted.) 

Richard I, died A. D. 1199, and was succeeded by 
his brother, 

JOHN, (Lackland.) 

Upon the death of Richard without heirs, the crown, 
by the law of descent, belonged to Arthur, Duke of 
Brittany, who was the son of Geoffrey, an elder broth- 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 



23 



er of John. John died A. D. 121G, and was suc- 
ceeded by his son, 

HENRY III 
Henry III, reigned for fifty-six years, died A. D. 
1272, and was succeeded by his son, 

EDWARD I* 
Edward I, died A. D. 1307, and was succeeded by 
his son, 

EDWARD II 
Edward II, was murdered, A. B. 1327, and was 
succeeded by his son, 

EDWARD III 

Edward III, reigned for fifty years, died A. D. 
1377, and was succeeded by his grandson, 

RICHARD II 

Richard II, was the son of Edward the Black 
Prince, the eldest son of Edward III. He was de- 
posed A. D. 1399, and murdered, A. D. 1400. He 
was the last king of the unbroken line of Plantagenets, 
who had ruled England from the time of Henry II. 

*The name of Edward has been mentioned several times in connection 
with the crown of England, prior to the accession of Edward I. These 
were all of the Saxon race, but Edward the son of Henry III, being 
the first Edward of the Norman race, is known in history as Edward I 



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^ppon the deposition and death of Richard II, 
^* without heirs, the crown belonged to the Lionel 
branch of the family of Edward III, whose children 
were the hens of the oldest male blood of that monarch. 
But Henry, Duke of Lancaster, son of John of Gaunt, 
fourth son of Edward III, usurped the throne, to the 
exclusion of the heirs of Lionel. 

HENRY IV, (Surnamed Bolenbroke.) 
Henry IV, the first king of the House of Lancaster, 
ascended the throne A. D. 1399, died 1413, and 
was succeeded by his son, 

HENRY V, (Prince Hal.) 
Henry V, died A. D. 1422, and was suceeded by 
his son, 

HENRY VI 
Henry YI, reigned until he was dethroned, A. D. 
1461, by Edward, Earl of Marche. He was the last 
king of the House of Lancaster. 



s has been observed, the heirs of the Lionel branch 
of the family of Edward III, from whom the mon- 
archs of the House of York were descended, were the 
nearestof royal blood, afterthedeath of RichardIL But 
the male heirs of this family having died, and Henry 
IV being a powerful and popular sovereign, the na- 
tion recognized his claim, and he was acknowledged 
king. Little was said of the rival claim of the House 
of York, during the reigns of Henry IV. and V., but 
during the reign of Henry VI., Richard, Duke of 
York, set up the claim of that family to the throne. 
A. D. 1455, the battle of St. Albans was fought j 
the first of twelve bloody battles in the contest be- 
tween the Houses of Lancaster and York, which for 
thirty years deluged England with blood, and which is 
known in history as the " War of the Roses." 

In the third of those battles, viz., the battle of 
Wakeneld, fought in December, A. D. 1460, the 



26 



MONUMENT OF 



Duke of York was defeated and slain, when his son, 
Edward, took up the cause of the house of York, and 
succeeded in being proclaimed king, A. D. 14GL 



EDWARD IV. 

Edward IV. was descended from Lionel, Duke of 
Clarence, third son of Edward III, as follows : Li- 
onel left a daughter, Phillippa, who married Edmund 
Mortimer, and left a son, Roger Mortimer, who left a 
daughter, Ann Mortimer, who married Richard, Duke 
of York, son of Edmund de Langley, fifth son of Ed- 
ward III. The issue of the marriage of Ann Morti- 
mer with Richard, was the Richard, Duke of York, 
(killed in the batte of Wakefield, A. D. 1460,) and 
the father of Edward IV. Thus the blood of two 
branches of the family of Edward III, were united in 
him. Edward IV. died A. D. 1483, and was suc- 
ceeded by his son, 

EDWARD V. 

Edward V. was never crowned. He bore the title 
of king but two months and twelve days, when he, 
with his younger brother Richard, was murdered by 
Richard, Duke of Gloster, their uncle, A. D. 
1483. 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 



27 



RICHARD III. 

Richard III., brother of Edward IV., was killed in 
the battle of Bosworth, A. D. 1485. He was the 
last king of the House of York, and the last of the 
family of Plantagenet, who had held the throne from 
the time of Henry II. 



Sflu ®urt<r* gnmiUj. 


JSY^L 


HENRY VII. 


«Hrv'ENRY VII. was the first king of the Tndor family. 


^^° He was son of Edmund Tudor and Margaret 


Beaufort, grand-daughter of John Beaufort, Earl of 


Somerset, an illegitimate eon of John of Gaunt, fourth 


son of Edward III. He died, A. D. 1509, and 


was succeeded by his son, 


HENRY VIII. 


Henry VIII. died A. D. 1547, and was succeeded 


by his son, 

EDWARD VI 


Edward VI. died, A. D. 1553, and was succeeded 


by his sister, 

MARY. 


Mary died, A. D. 1558, and was succeeded by 


her sister, 

ELIZABETH 


Elizabeth, the last sovereign of the Tudor family, 


died, A. D. 1603. 



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JAMES I 

wames I. succeeded Elizabeth, A. D. 1603, and died 
& A. D. 1625. His mother was Mary, Queen of 
Scots, the daughter of James V. of Scotland, the son 
of James IV., of Scotland, who married Margaret 
Tudor, daughter of Henry VII., of England. His 
father was Henry Stuart, grand-son of Margaret 
Tudor, daughter of Henry VII. James I. was suc- 
ceeded by his son, 

CHARLES I 

Charles I. was beheaded A. D. 1649, and then 
followed the 



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fter the death of Charles L, the government 
was administered by Oliver Cromwell and his son 
Richard, under the title of Protector, until monarchy- 
was restored, A. D. 1660, in the person of, 

CHARLES II. 

Charles II. died A. D. 1685, and was succeeded 
by his brother, 

JAMES II. 

James II. abdicated the throne A. D. 1688, and 
was succeeded by 

WILLIAM AND M ART. 

Mary died, A. D. 1694, and William reigned alone, 
as William III., till Ms death, A. D. 1702. Mary 
was the daughter of James II., and William was 



ENGLISH HISTORY. 31 



grandson of Charles L, by his daughter Mary, who 
married William, Prince of Orange. 

ANNE. 

Anne, second daughter of James II., succeeded 
William III., and died, A. D. 1714. She married 
Prince George of Denmark, and left no issue. She 
was the last Sovereign of the Stuart family. 




Sft* pong* *t ^xnnzwitl. 

GEORGE I. 

g% eorge I. was the son of Sophia, daughter of Eliz- 
^^ abeth, eldest daughter of James I. He died A. 
D. 1727, and was succeeded by his son, 
GEORGE II. 
George II. died A. D. 1760, and was succeeded 
by his grandson, 

GEORGE III 
George III. reigned sixty years, died A. D. 1820, 
and was succeeded by his son, 

GEORGE IV. 
George IV. died, A D. 1830, and was succeeded 
by his brother, 

WILLIAM IV. 
William IV. died, A. D. 1837, and was succeeded 
by 

VICTORIA. 

Victoria, the present sovereign of England, was 
daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, fourth son of 
George III. She ascended the throne A. D. 1837, 
and A. D. 1840, was married to Albert Charles Au- 
gustus Emanuel, Prince of Saxe, and Duke of Saxe- 
Coburg. Prince Albert died, A. D. 1862. 



